Apparatus for applying adhesive on tubular cores for rolls of web material and for feeding same cores to a web winding machine

ABSTRACT

A machine is disclosed for applying adhesive to the small, tubular cores on which paper webs are wound for the manufacture of toilet paper, kitchen towels and the like. The machine also moves the cores from the hopper, and after adhesive is applied, in an axial direction to the paper re-winder.

This application is a Reissue of Ser. No. 236,487, U.S. Pat. No.4,931,130. .Iaddend.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention refers to paper converting machines and in particular, torewinding or re-reeling machines. They may be from off-machine paperreels or by reels directly coming from the paper mill. They unwind thepaper at high speed and wind it on small tubular cores to form logs orrolls of paper web of relatively small diameter, such as toilet tissueor kitchen towels. The logs are much longer than the standard toilettissue roll (approximately 41/2") or the standard kitchen towel(approximately 9") and are then cut transverse to the axis of the coreor log to the rolls of paper utilizable in domestic or industrialfacilities.

Converting machines of the type considered herein are disclosed in priorart patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,877 and Italian Patent 963047and French Patent 2,193,387.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A problem with such type of rewinding machines is the feeding of thetubular cores to the machine and the application of adhesive or glue onthe cores for holding the leading edge of the paper web to be wound onthe core for the formation of the roll. The apparatus according to thepresent invention relates to a system which provides for the fastpresentation and feeding of a tubular core (which has adhesivedistributed thereon in a relatively limited amount although sufficientfor the paper retention) and for stabilizing the initial turn of thelength of paper web to be wound. The apparatus provides a speedyoperation which does not slow down the productivity of the rewinder.

This and other objects and advantages of the invention will be evidentto those skilled in the art from the reading of the following text.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a paper-converting plant, the lightweight, small diameter cores onwhich the paper is to be wound generally are manufactured at one part ofthe factory and are then fed axially along a conveyor line to areceiving hopper where a plurality of the long cores are stored untilthey are needed on the rewinding machine. At that time, one of the coresis moved into alignment with the winding portion of the rewindermachine, and the adhesive is applied to the core for receiving andholding the leading edge of the paper web to be wound on the core.

It is preferred that the adhesive is distributed along the surface ofthe core while the core is moving axially into position to receive theleading edge of the web of the paper.

In order to support the core along its axial movement, two spaced-apartsupports are provided, between which the adhesive applicating mechanismoperates.

Because the core advancing mechanism is outside and to one side of therewinder, at least one of the supports may consist of a continuous beltfor the advancement and the launch. In the adhesive application zone,another continuous belt may be provided.

The adhesive application means may be a rotating disc which dips into anadhesive-storing container and then wipes against the approaching core.The peripheral speed of the disc is preferably slightly less than thatof the advancing core.

With the above and other objects in view, further information and abetter understanding of the present invention may be achieved byreferring to the following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in theaccompanying drawings a form thereof which is at present preferred,although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities ofwhich the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized,and that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement andorganizations of the instrumentalities as hereto shown and described.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic top plan view of the winder and core-feeder.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section, parallel to the trajectory of a core forthe side feeding to a winder.

FIG. 3 is a section on line III--III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a section on line IV--IV of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view along arrow V of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a rewinder.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail of FIG. 5.

According to what is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, numeral 1generally indicates a hopper or reservoir intended to feed cores to avertical lower channel 3, wherein the cores coming from reservoir 1 arestacked on top of each other. The hopper-reservoir 1 is provided with asuitable agitator 1A to ensure the regular movement of the tubularcores, made of cardboard of the like, into channel 3. The verticalchannel 3 ensures the feeding of cores to a distributor device whichfeeds, in succession, one core after the other to a transfer line fortransferring cores to the rewinder. This hopper 1 is placed at one sideof the rewinder (indicated by R in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6) at a limiteddistance and sideway with respect to the direction of the unwinding ofthe paper web and of the removal of logs or rolls of paper formed byrewinder R. The movement of the paper web is indicated by arrow fR inFIG. 1. Cores are fed to the rewinder in a direction fA at a right angleto direction fR of paper unwinding and rolls or logs removal, and thusin the axial direction of said tubular core. The core reaches therewinder with the adhesive applied thereon.

At the lower end of channel 3, a distributor is provided consisting of amember 5 oscillating about an axis 7. Member 5 is driven by acylinder-piston system 8 to rotate about the axis 7 in the direction ofarrow f% from the position (shown in FIG. 3 where it has received coreA1 from channel 3. It moves the core in the direction of arrow f5 to aposition of release (A2) from which it is moved axially to the rewinderR according to the direction of arrow fA.

At the core position A2, an inclined wall 9 provides support(theoretically on a single generatrix) for the right lower quadrant ofthe core as can be seen by looking at the drawing of the core section atA2. A second support for the left lower quadrant of the core (whenlooking at the core A2 in FIG. 3) is provided by the upper portion of atransferring belt 12. The motion of member 5 is a reciprocating motionfor the successive feeding of cores from position A1 to position A2.During the movement of member 5, a suitably arcuated profile having itscenter on axis 7 keeps the column of cores within channel 3. Thedistribution 5 preferably is made up of two or more elements, one toensure the smooth transfer of the core, and the other to ensure thepositive support of the core column within channel 3.

The inclined wall 9 extends the entire length of the apparatus up to therewinder R. The transfer belt 12 is driven between a transmission pulley14, which may be adjustable for tensioning, and an adjustable returnpulley 16. Pulley 16 is located close to the structure of rewinder R,and the axial displacement of the core by the upper section of belt 12(in the direction of arrow f12) advances the core to the rewinder, beinglaunched by belt 12.

As the core is transferred to the rewinder, it is pushed from the hopperreservoir 1, past the glue applicator 18 (which is between the rewinderand the core reservoir-hopper 1). Belt 12 is further driven around amotive pulley 20 and around transmission pulleys 22 and 24. Moreover,the active upper portion of belt 12, slides over a supporting surface.In particular, one supporting surface may extend along the adhesiveapplication group 18 in order to overcome the effect of belt 26 which isdisposed with its own active lower portion in a position opposite to theactive upper portion of belt 12. This ensures the core advancement inthe direction of arrow f12. Belt 26 is driven between pulleys 28, 30 and32, the latter of which may be motive and driven by the same motor 34which drives also the pulley 20. The movements of the transfer belt 12and of the opposing belt 26 are intermittent and suitably synchronizedwith the operating cycle of rewinder R, which must receive a core,having adhesive thereon, before the start of every cycle for theformation of a log or roll in the rewinder, as is well known in the art.

The core at position A2 (FIG. 3), resting on belt 12 and on inclinedwall 9, is made to advance by movement of said belt 12 and to pass itthrough the adhesive-dispensing group 18 wherein the opposing belt 26 isalso located, which belt 26 ensures the axial push on the core passingtherein at the position indicated by A3 (see FIG. 4). Upon the transitthrough the adhesive applicator 18, the core, positioned at A3, issupported all the time by the reclined wall 9 and the belt 12 spacedapart to a limited extent in order to leave a space less than thecross-section of the core where the application of adhesive takes place.

For the application of the adhesive, a disc 42 is provided which is ableto rotate by a continuous motion with a peripheral speed which may beless than the core advancement speed at the position A3. In any case,the relative speeds give rise to a mutual rubbing of the disc peripheryand the core lower zone, so as to allow the disc to effectively applythe adhesive to the core in a uniform way and in relatively limitedamounts. Disc 42 is arranged to dip into an adhesive container 44 whichcan be suitably stirred and kept at a desired level to make sure thatdisc 42 picks up a predetermined amount of adhesive at every revolution.Scraper means may also be provided to ensure the distribution of aconstant amount of adhesive. Clearly, with such an arrangement, theadhesive is applied because of the movement of the core by belt 12 alonga lower longitudinal portion, with respect to the location of the corebetween support 9 and the upper active position of belt 12.

The core that has received the adhesive reaches the rewinder R and isdirectly inserted in axial direction (see arrow f12) with a continuationof the movement allowing same core to be timely positioned and thus incondition to be inserted between the cylinders of the winding system ofthe rewinder.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show schematically a feasible embodiment of the system forthe winding of the paper web intended to form a log roll on the core. Asthese rewinders are of various and known type, only the main elementswill be herein described.

As can be seen in said Figures, the core reaches, from the dwellposition A4 (FIG. 5) immediately at the side of rewinder R, the positionA5 (FIG. 7) inside the rewinder where it is axially pushed along aguidewall 59, which is the continuous extension of wall 9. Wall 9 startsfrom below the hopper of reservoir 1, and past a wall 60 which faceswall 59 and is spaced therefrom a distance substantially equivalent tothat of the upper branch of belt 12. Walls 59 and 60 may be thecontinuation of wall 9 and of the upper branch of belt 12, thereby thecore, from the stand-by position immediately adjacent the rewinder R, isaxially pushed into the seat located inside the rewinder and defined bywalls 59 and 60. The spacing between walls 59 and 60 corresponds to thezone of core 5 where the latter is supplied with adhesive, as indicatedby C in the various Figures.

It should be noted that wall 60 is slightly displaced and away from wall59 with respect to the position taken up by the active position of belt12 relative to wall 9. This permits space for a set of fingers 62intended for pushing the core from position A5 up to the position wherethe winding begins. The fingers 62 have the form for blades and may alsobe partially disposed in slots formed in the wall 60. Fingers 62 arerelatively thin at their ends in order to reduce as far as possible theinterference surface made up of said ends with respect to the strip ofadhesive C that might rub on fingers 62 at the rotation start of core 5inserted for the winding.

When in position A5, the core is pushed at the precise moment by fingers62 into the interspace between two cylinders 64 and 66 making part ofthe group for the winding of paper web N on the cores. Web N comes fromthe reel of two-fold web or from one or two reels of web coming from thepaper mill, and is diverted by suitable pulleys and fed to cylinder 66which rotates according to the arrow indicated on roll 66 in FIG. 6. Oncylinder 66, the web is perforated and then moved towards the groovebetween the same cylinder 66 and cylinder 64 where the core is insertedfrom position A5 so as to cause the winding of the web on the core inorder to form a log or roll indicated by BS in FIG. 6. The log or rollBS is formed resting on cylinders 66 and 64 and with a progressiveremoval therefrom, the winding being controlled by a presser roller 68.Upon completion of the winding for the formation of a log or roll BS,the roll moves away and a new core is inserted from position A5 into theinterspace between the two cylinders 64 and 66 for the restart of a newwinding.

It should be noted that the core A5, inserted by means of the fingers 62into the interspace between said cylinders 64 and 66, is initially madeto roll on wall 59, thus reaching the zone of minimum distance betweenthe two cylinders 64 and 66 when the zone of adhesive C comes intocontact with paper web N and moves forward together with roller 66 andonto roller 64. Accordingly, the strip of adhesive is made to act on thepaper web which must be retained on the core by said adhesive forstarting the winding of the web thereon. Therefore, the adhesive doesnot come into contact with any of the rewinder members except, and onlyto a limited extent, with the ends of fingers 62 which are of limiteddimension and, moreover, are in any case continuously cleaned by thesubsequent cores being pushed into the winding zone, and thus withoutany risk of accumulation of adhesive on the ends of fingers 62.

After each insertion of a core from position A5 into the interspacebetween cylinder 64, 66, fingers 62 return between walls 59 and 60, anda new core can be pushed from the position A4 by belt 12 to reach theposition A5. The time for this transfer is practically the time for theformation of a roll or log BS, and thus is a time sufficient forperforming all the operations with sufficiently limited velocity,acceleration and deceleration in order to achieve the feeding oflongitudinally glued cores with absolute regularity for the rewinderoperation.

It is furthermore to be understood that the present invention may beembodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit orspecial attributes; and it is, therefore, desired that the presentembodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and,therefore, not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claimsrather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of theinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto protect by Letters Patent are the following:
 1. .[.In an.]. .Iadd.An.Iaddend.apparatus for convolutely winding .[.of.]. webs of sheetmaterial onto a small diameter core, .Iadd.comprising .Iaddend.means forfeeding said core in an axial movement toward theapparatus.[.,.]..Iadd.;.Iaddend. means for feeding said sheet materialtoward said core orthogonally to the direction of .Iadd.axial.Iaddend.movement of said core.[.,.]. .Iadd.comprising a first windingcylinder and a second winding cylinder positioned in relation to eachother so as to have an interspace present therebetween through whichsaid sheet material is fed; .Iaddend. a core-receiving seat in saidapparatus.[.,.]. .Iadd.positioned adjacent said interspace between saidfirst winding cylinder and said second winding cylinder on a side fromwhich said sheet material is fed; .Iaddend. means for .Iadd.axially.Iaddend.moving said core .Iadd.from a side of said apparatus.Iaddend.into said core-receiving seat of the apparatus.[.,.]..Iadd.;.Iaddend. .Iadd.means for pushing a core perpendicularly to said core'saxis from said core-receiving seat into the interspace present betweensaid first winding cylinder and said second winding cylinder, said corecrossing said interspace; .Iaddend.and adhesive-applying means disposedalong the axial path of the core and arranged to apply a singlelongitudinal strip of adhesive to said core .Iadd.during axial movementof said core toward said apparatus but .Iaddend.prior to its insertioninto said core-receiving seat.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, including apair of spaced-apart supports for said core in the adhesive-applyingarea with the adhesive-applying means disposed between the pair ofsupports.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein one of said pair ofsupports is a continuous moving belt.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3including a pressure-applying belt arranged in the adhesive-applyingsection in opposition to the said continuously-moving belt.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the adhesive-applying means includes arotating disc and an adhesive container, wherein said rotating disc isarranged to enter the adhesive container and remove adhesive therefromand pass it in a grazing manner to the core passing through theadhesive-applying zone.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein theperipheral speed of the rotating disc is less than the speed of the coremoving through the adhesive-applying zone.